In the past, a number of designs of spinning fishing reels have utilized mechanisms to position a wire bail in open and closed positions for permitting line payoff and for causing line rewinding, respectively. Such prior art mechanisms have typically included a relatively large number of parts resulting in increased cost and complexity and may be characterized as having a relatively large spring tension which must be overcome to drive the bail from the open to the closed position resulting in a hard action or "feel" when it is desired to rewind the fishing line on a spool of the fishing reel.
The present invention overcomes deficiencies of prior art devices by providing an improved detent mechanism which has relatively few parts, and which is characterized by a relatively light resisting force to be overcome resulting in an improved "feel" in closing the bail for line rewinding.